Somers Town Board Votes to End Condo Tax Reduction

The Somers Town Board voted unanimously on October 4 to approve a resolution to prohibit homeowners associations from obtaining large tax cuts after they convert their properties into condominiums.

Town Attorney Roland Baroni told the Town Board last week the purpose of the legislation was to keep property taxes unchanged for properties HOAs convert to condominiums. Without the legislation, properties converted into condos could have their property taxes reduced by 40 to 50 percent because condos are assessed differently than private homes under state regulations, he said.

The legislation will “only affect the town portion of the tax,” Baroni noted. The Somers School District will need to pass its own resolution to prohibit lower taxes for properties converted into condos, he said. School taxes represent 80 percent of a Somers property tax bill.

Councilman William Faulkner asked Baroni how the school district can protect itself from property tax losses from properties converted into condos. The process requires the Board of Education to approve a binding resolution, Baroni said

Baroni said the town legislation will be submitted to the office of the Westchester County clerk, which will transfer it to the office of the state attorney general for its approval.

\There are municipalities in Westchester County in which HOAs have converted their properties into condos in an effort to obtain lower property taxes, Baroni said.

No residents spoke during last week’s public hearing, which was closed by the Town Board prior to passing the legislation.

A copy of the town’s legislation will be sent to the Somers Board of Education so it can be used as a guide for its own potential binding resolution.